Fighting the Odds
by AtomicX160
Summary: It seems like this kid has both the worst and best luck. How will he fight the odds stacked against him?
1. An Unexpected Beginning

I never minded being the son of a traveling trainer. I didn't even mind when my father was offered a job as a gym leader in Hoenn. Moving to Johto was easy, as I hadn't gotten attached to many people. What I did mind, however, was that my mother made me ride all the way from Johto to Hoenn in a moving truck. For those that don't know, Hoenn is surrounded by water. It's impossible to get there from other regions without going in the water. Where am I going with this? I had to sit in a moving truck that was on a boat. The whole boat ride!

But enough of that. It was my first day in my new home in Littleroot Town. My mom made me set my clock and sent me out to explore the town on my own. I heard a screaming sound from the north. When I turned toward the sound and saw a kid looking down the path out of town. I immediately dashed out of town and saw a man cornered by a Pokemon I'd never seen. It looked like some sort of racoon.

"You there! Help me! Grab a Pokemon from my bag!" The man yelled at me. I picked up a yellow bag lying nearby and found four pokeballs within. "One of those is empty. Choose a filled one and help!"

I shrugged and picked up a pokeball. I stared at the Pokemon and suddenly saw that it was called Zigzagoon. I'm not really sure how; a small white box showed up with its name, level, and gender. I let out a sigh and realized I didn't know how to send out a Pokemon. Or battle at all, for that matter. I shrugged again and chucked the pokeball at Zigzagoon, figuring something would happen. The ball hit the Pokemon on the head, but rather than spit out a monster, it opened up and absorbed Zigzagoon into it.

I sat and watched the ball hit the ground and began to wiggle.

"What did you do?" The man asked me. I pointed at the ball. Could he really not tell what just happened?

The ball continued to move back and forth. It slowed down gradually, until it stopped in place. I wasn't sure why, but it was a bit thrilling. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but I wanted it to happen fast. The button on the ball became red, and a few stars flew out. I stooped over and picked the ball up, resting it in the palm of my hand.

"Thank you for saving me," the man stated. "I'm Professor Birch. It's nice to meet you." I nodded in return. "Not much for words?" I shook my head. "Well, come to my lab later, okay? I have something I'd like to give you." I nodded once again and offered my full hand to him. "Why don't you keep that Zigzagoon?" He offered. "It's the least I could do." I said nothing, but I could feel my lips curve slightly into a smile. I always wanted a Pokémon! I watched him walk back into town and prepared to follow him.


	2. New Discoveries

"This is called a Pokédex, my boy," Professor Birch stated as he handed me a device. It was a small, green thing that folded in half. "It will record data on every Pokémon you catch. For example, look for Zigzagoon."

I passively stroked the Pokéball that was lying dormant in my pocket. I pushed a few buttons on the dex and a small keyboard appeared on the screen. I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because the Professor reached around and tapped the "Z" on the screen, which resulted in it entering the search bar up top. I gasped in excitement and continued with typing the rest of the Pokémon's name. An electronic voice popped out of the thing;

"Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This Pokémon does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see."

"That's not all," the Professor announced, shattering my immersion. "Send out Zigzagoon."

I reached into my pocket and took the ball into my palm. I pressed the button on the middle of the ball and Zigzagoon appeared in a flash of light. It let out a light cry and began to zig and zag around the Professor's lab. Birch took my Dex and pressed a few buttons. He aimed it at Zigzagoon and some stats popped up on the screen. In a box near the bottom read _Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip._

"This screen shows you your Pokémon's stats, moves, abilities, the like." The large man folded the Dex and placed it in my hand. Zigzagoon bumped into my leg and then nuzzled up to it. "By the way, would you like to nickname Zigzagoon?"

I nodded and returned Zigzagoon to its ball.

"What will you name it?" I stayed silent. "Right… well, my daughter May is just north of here, training on Route 103. Why don't you go battle her?" I shrugged and nodded. I turned around and left the lab.

I passed through Route 101 pretty uneventfully. I visited the Pokémon Center anyway just to get acquainted with the functions. An erratic man blocked the western path to Route 102, but I was heading north anyway so it didn't matter. I trekked through the very small space that was Route 103 and saw a girl sitting by a tree.

"Hmm… so here's what you can catch here…" She seemed absorbed in something. I cleared my throat. "Agh! Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

I shrugged and showed her my Dex.

"A Pokédex? Dad must've sent you!" She giggled a bit. "I'll come with you, but you gotta battle me first! Deal?" I nodded. "Sweet! I'm May, by the way!"

May reached onto her belt and threw a ball, shouting something about a Torchic. Sure enough, a small red chick flashed in front of her. I touched the button on my Poké ball and muttered;

"Now, McZagger."


	3. Luck or Skill?

"Ooooh! Too cute!" May giggled and looked at my Zigzagoon, McZagger. "You ready for this?" I nodded.

"Torchic, use Scratch!" The girl across from me shouted. My voice was barely a murmur.

"Watch out." McZagger zigzagged to his left, then right, avoiding the Torchic's scratch. "Now."

McZagger dashed towards Torchic and rammed the side of his body into the small bird.

"Gah! Torchic, hit it with Scratch!" The orange thing hobbled off the ground and jumped towards my monster. It aimed its webbed foot at him and landed a scratch on top of Zigzagoon.

"Do it." While Torchic was recovering, Zigzagoon tackled the back of his foe's head. The chick flew and landed at May's feet.

"Torchic!" The Mon hobbled onto its small feet. It had a few bruises, but the fire in it was unmistakable. "Growl!"

Torchic let out an adorable sound. I looked down at McZagger, who was pawing at my leg, begging for attention.

 _That went right over his head…_ I nodded at the rodent, who seemed to understand the message. It zigged and zagged towards the opponent, running headfirst into its small form. Torchic planted into the ground headfirst, unconscious.

"Torchic, you did well…" May took out a ball and called Torchic back. "You're pretty good, guy! What's your name, anyway?" She began to list off a bunch of random names, such as Landon, Terry, Sean, Seth, and Tom. I simply shook my head no.

I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out my trainer card. I handed the small piece of plastic to the girl.

"Hey, we should be rivals… Brendan?" I nodded. She handed the card back to me. "All right! It's decided! You and I will be rivals, Brendan! We'll strive to become better than the other! We'll be each other's goal!"

I simply nodded again.

"You really don't care for words, do you?" I shook my head and shrugged. "No matter, I suppose. Let's head back to dad."

Professor Birch eyed up our Pokémon and murmured to himself. McZagger investigated all sorts of things around the lab, while Torchic watched him curiously.

"Hm. Yes, I can tell that they're growing already," Birch stated. "They're both on track to become quite strong."

"Dad, how'd I lose to Brendan?" May asked. "I've been a trainer longer."

"Who's to say?" The professor replied. "A win's still a win, right? This should just strengthen your resolve to improve, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right… okay! I'm gonna beat you next time, Brendan!" I chuckled a bit as she reached into her bag. "Here. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't even the playing field, so take these Poké balls."

I offered my hand and May placed five balls into my hand. I didn't feel like taking my bag off my back, so I popped them into my pocket.

"If I may recommend it, your father is in Petalburg City as the gym leader. You should start there!" Professor Birch chimed in. "It's just west of Oldale Town."

I nodded simply and turned to leave.

"Brendan!" May called. "I'll beat you there. Don't keep me waiting!" May sprinted out the door ahead of me, Torchic already on her shoulder. The professor scratched his head. I signalled for McZagger to leave, and my partner heeled at my feet.


	4. On The Way

McZagger tagged along at my feet. We stepped into the field just west of Oldale Town, leading us onto Route 102. I kept an eye on my partner, watching him investigate every little thing on the ground. He tended to move in a forward motion, so it wasn't too much of a problem. I simply marched with my little friend in tow. There were wild Pokemon that were fun to watch, but McZagger and I slowly moved towards Petalburg. Eventually, we came to an area covered with tall grass.

 _This is where wild Pokemon appear, isn't it? I suppose we should be careful._ I motioned for my pet to keep up with me as we slowly traversed the shrubbery. I heard a few sounds here and there, but kept my forward momentum going.

We were almost through when I felt something wet around my ankles. I looked down and saw nothing but McZagger nuzzling up to me. I reached down to pick him up and noticed that his fur was wet.

Zigzagoon made a low growling noise and pointed his head to our right. I couldn't see through the tall grass, but I did notice that the grass and soil were damp. The shrubbery rustled slightly.

"Investigate that for me, will you?" I asked my partner. He jumped out of my arms and probed the moist area. I heard a popping, and Zigzagoon jumped back towards me. His face was newly wet.

I heard a screech-like sound, and a blue thing jumped into vision. It was insect-like, and had four long, skinny legs that balanced it perfectly on the ground. It seemed more cut out for gliding on water than land, because it seemed to struggle a bit. I whipped out my Dex.

"Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokemon. From the tips of its feet, Surskit secretes an oil that enables it to walk on water as if it were skating. This Pokémon feeds on microscopic organisms in ponds and lakes."

"McZagger, Tackle," I commanded. My companion charged into Surskit, which sent the bug flying back. It retorted by spitting out bubbles. This exchange happened for a bit. One time, Zigzagoon dodged the bubbles, which went right to me. They exploded right in front of my face, which threw me off. I began to stumble and tripped over a rock, sending me towards the ground. I felt something fly out of my pocket.

 _Wait, I had nothing in my pants, except for…_ I looked up just in time to see one of my Pokeballs make direct contact with Surskit. It barely even wiggled; the ball clicked almost immediately. McZagger picked up the dormant sphere and brought it to me.

 _I caught a Surskit… I think?_ I went to place the ball somewhere, only to realize I didn't have a trainer's belt. I shrugged and popped it into my left pocket with my rodent's capsule.

With that all done, I marched to the end of the grass. I saw the entrance to Petalburg City just in front of me. I was almost to my dad, but more importantly, I was closer to the Pokemon City.


	5. Wally

"Good to see you, son!" My father, Norman, gave me a hearty pat on the back. "I see you have your own Pokemon now!" I silently nodded at my father, with both of my companions standing at my feet.

"E-excuse me?" Someone burst into the gym. "I-I'd like a Pokemon, please…" A young boy stood before us. He stood a bit shorter than me, with messy green hair.

"Ah! Wally, is it?" My dad asked. He handed the kid a Pokeball. "Here. Use this to go catch your own! Brendan, why don't you go with him?"

I shrugged and gestured Wally out of the gym. We walked to Route 102 and searched in the grass. Wally made a remark about looking in grass for Pokemon.

"Whoa!" Wally shouted. I turned towards what he was looking at and saw what looked like a child. It had gray skin, with orange things sticking out of the front and back of its head. It had a blue cap that covered its eyes.

"This must be a Pokemon!"

 _You don't say…_

Wally popped the Pokeball dad gave him and a Zigzagoon popped out. It attacked the child-like Pokemon for a bit, when Wally called it back and threw a ball.

"One… Two… Three… Yes!" Wally burst into the air. He picked up the dormant ball and placed it on his belt. "Let's head back to the gym!"

"GAH! WHAT?" My father shouted. "THIS CANNOT BE REAL!"

"What? What's going on?" Wally asked. Dad asked for my Pokedex and looked up a Pokemon called "Ralts." It looked similar to Wally's monster, but with a green cap and pink things in the head instead of orange. He showed the picture to Wally.

"Why are they different?" Wally asked.

"Tell me, do you know what a 'shiny' Pokemon is?" the gym leader asked us. We both shook our heads "no." "Well, every Pokemon has a 1/8192 of having a different coloration. They don't behave any differently, but most people go their whole lives without even knowing they exist…"

"Is my Pokemon shiny?" Wally asked.

"Yes. It's named Ralts and it's a Psychic type. It's… my gosh…" Norman looked at the Pokemon in front of him. He was completely mesmerized.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Norman. Brendan. I have to be going now. Come back, Ralts!" Wally returned the monster to its capsule and ran out. "Bye! Thank you!"

I cleared my throat. My two Pokemon stood at each of my legs, facing my dad. I looked at him expectantly.

"Hahaha! You want a battle, eh, son?" I nodded confidently. "I wouldn't plan on it. There's no way you're strong enough!"

I looked at my father upset. I didn't know what his deal was, but I didn't appreciate the bravado.

"Listen, champ. I'm not trying to bully you. Here, watch this." My father opened his own Pokeball. A large, yawning ape popped out. "This is Slaking. He could crush both of your Pokemon in one blow."

I returned my friends to their mini shelters. I made awkward eye contact with dad.

"Listen, sport. Do you wanna join the Pokemon League?" I nodded. "Then go west and north from here. You'll end up in Rustboro City, home of Gym Leader Roxanne. That's the best place to start."

I left the gym, waving an abrupt goodbye to my dad. Route 104 was ahead of me. What would be there?


	6. The Wood

_Wow… a shiny Ralts…_

The shining image of Wally's Pokemon stuck in my brain. It was his first Pokemon, and it ended up being super rare… how unlucky could I be?

 _I end up with Zigzagoon as a starter and accidentally catch a Surskit, Wally catches a shiny… this is gonna be a long journey._

The march through Route 104 was relatively uneventful. There was one man, however, who gave me a ton of prize money for beating him. Petalburg Woods, on the other hand, were quite the trip.

It started off with me running into some sleeping monkey. I think it was called Slakoth? Anyway, it just slept, so I let it be. Then I began running into Wurmple and Shroomish. Obviously, Surskit could only Bubble, so Zigzagoon was my only choice to fight. He kept getting poisoned. Running back and forth to the Petalburg Pokemon Center just got old. I finally trudged through about half of the forest when a man came running at me.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a Pokemon called Shroomish? I really love that Pokemon." All I could do is look at the man dumbfounded. The things were everywhere!

"Hold there! Hand over the goods!" A funny-looking man in blue dashed towards us. "Give us the Devon Goods!"

"Gah!" The Shroomish man ducked behind me. "You're a trainer, right? Help me!"

"Poochyena! Make this kid regret the day he messed with Team Aqua!" The man threw a pokeball and a black dog popped out. I didn't want anything to do with this, but it looked like my fate was already decided.

"Now, Aeroskit." The Pond Skater Pokemon exploded in light. "Bubble."

The bug spit light water bubbles at the dark pup. It got a little wet, and appeared to be a bit damaged, but it wasn't much.

"Ha! That's nothing! Tackle!" Poochyena rammed itself into my monster.

"Enough. Now, McZagger." I threw my partner into the fray and watched Surskit skate its way back to my side. "Attack."

Zigzagoon tucked his head in and charged at Poochyena. His head landed itself right in the hound's side.

"Looks like your Zigzagoon's Headbutt attack is powerful!" The man I defended stated. The enemy Pokemon flinched backwards, looking at my rodent.

 _Headbutt, eh?_

"Do it again." My command reached my partner's ears quickly. He buried his head right between Poochyena's two front legs. It landed in front of the grunt, fainted.

"Gah! You'll regret this! We'll have those goods!" The blue guy ran away the way he came.

"Oh my! Thank you!" The man I defended approached me. "If I may ask, why did you name your Zigzagoon like that? Wouldn't it be 'Mick Zagger?'"

"Ten character limit. The lack of a space would kill me."

"Right… Well, take this as gratitude!" He gave me a blue ball with red adornments. "It's a Great Ball!" He turned towards the way the criminal left. "But, if he went that way… No! They're going after Rustboro!" The business-seeming man ran off.

 _Rustboro, eh? That's my destination, isn't it?_

I gathered my partners and proceeded to the exit of the wood. I was apparently almost to Rustboro.


End file.
